Sergio Perez: “One of my best performances in Formula 1”

Sergio Perez revelled in an ‘amazing’ weekend in front of his home fans at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and was happy to be able to reward his supporters with an eighth place finish.

The Sahara Force India driver admitted he was worried that the deployment of the safety car would destroy his opportunity to secure a good result in Mexico, but was able to make his Pirelli tyres last a 41-lap stint, and said afterwards that it was one of his ‘best performances’ in Formula 1.

“What a week this has been here in Mexico!” revealed Perez. “The atmosphere has been amazing and there were so many special moments.

“The race today was probably one of the most difficult of my career because I was very unlucky with the timing of the safety car, which really didn’t help my one-stop strategy. We chose not to pit when it came out because we thought there was a chance to jump Nico [Hulkenberg] and Felipe [Massa], but in reality that didn’t happen.

“Then the team told me that the cars behind had all pitted and fitted new tyres, so I was a bit worried because I knew the final fifteen laps would be very difficult. To stay ahead of them and finish in eighth place is probably one of my best performances in Formula One and I’m very happy I could score points in front of my home crowd.

“I am very lucky to have this huge support from my country and I will remember this weekend forever. I think everybody has enjoyed the energy of the crowd and this must surely be one of the most popular races on the calendar now.”